Software is “eating the world,” according to Nep Orshiso — and that’s a good thing. He says the fast-paced nature of technology, and the change it brings, excites him.
“In some of my previous jobs, the work wasn’t as challenging,” he says. “Learning how to program has been challenging, rewarding, and gives me a creative outlet.”
The DigitalCrafts Full Stack Immersive Programs graduate, who holds a B.S. degree in Finance & Marketing from Truman State University in Missouri, learned how to savor the learning process thanks to his love of podcasts. He says one of the biggest takeaways from listening has been to take his time with learning, and to avoid defaulting to “the newest and shiniest technology,” simply because it’s new and shiny. He also believes that software developers have to make sure they’re using the most appropriate tools for the job at hand.
“It’s definitely more fun to just dive in, but I’ve found taking a slower and more thoughtful approach is helpful.”
Learn more about Nep Orshiso below.
What startup/tech projects have you worked on?
When I was in college, I worked on a startup called Motavera. I went to school in a small town in Northeast Missouri that was a several hour drive from the nearest cities. Our goal was to make it easier for employers to tap into college talent that was located further away.
What tech/tools are essential to you as a developer?
I wouldn’t get very far without Visual Studio Code and the Chrome and Firefox developer tools. I love the customizability of VS Code; the wide variety of color themes, extensions, linters all make for a pleasant experience and help me catch mistakes in real time. The developer tools in Chrome and Firefox are also absolutely essential. I love the ability to edit the HTML and CSS directly in the browser to mock up some quick changes.
How do you stay informed & on-top of emerging trends?
I really enjoy listening to podcasts as a way to consume information. My favorite tech podcasts that help me stay on top of emerging trends are JavaScript Jabber, The freeCodeCamp Podcast, Ladybug Podcast, and Software Engineering Daily. As these channels create new content, they discuss current topics and trends reflect the ever-changing landscape.
I’ve found that Twitter can also be a great platform to stay current. Following other software developers and reading what they’re talking about and working on can clue you in on current trends.
What are your best technical or creative skills?
I’m good at staying organized and coming up with a plan before diving into my code. I also value communication as a skill and more specifically, written communication. With knowledge work, you find yourself constantly writing, whether on Slack, email, or other media. It’s important to be able to express yourself in the written form and I even created https://blog.neporshiso.com to get more practice with writing.
What’s next on your list to learn?
I’m currently learning React. One of the cool things about React is that it’s agnostic to whichever technology you use on the back-end. If you just want to write JavaScript for the full application, you can use Node.js and Express which are technologies we’ve learned at DigitalCrafts, as your back-end.
I’d like to learn Spring, which is an enterprise Java framework. I like designing APIs more than front-end work, so familiarizing myself with different back-end technologies is what I plan on exploring further. Java is an extremely popular language that I’ve never used before and I’d like to learn a bit more about it.
Why the interest in the technology field?
It’s a high-growth field that I know I can contribute to, and you can have an outsized impact with a small team. WhatsApp had somewhere between 30 and 50 employees while supporting half a billion monthly active users when they were acquired by Facebook. That’s simply amazing. Today, with cloud hosting infrastructure such as Amazon Web Services, you can ship an application to a global audience from the comfort of your living room, at affordable rates.
Are you interested in working for a startup, mid-sized company, or a corporate giant?
I believe a mid-sized company has a good mixture of experienced developers that can mentor juniors and challenging opportunities for less-experienced developers to try and tackle.
Interested in looking at Nep’s credentials? Here you go! GitHub, Portfolio, and LinkedIn.
